Patricia McAdams Gibbons
is an attorney at law in Lynchburg Virginia specializing in family and collaborative law. She has over thirty years of experience as a lawyer and is well-versed in family law, collaborative law and mediation.

General Comments from Ms. Gibbons about Collaborative Divorce
After 30 years as a family law lawyer, I have found that intensive court litigation is extremely disruptive to families and leaves children as the collateral damage to the fight. In order to preserve the family unit as the family structure is restructured, one now has the option of using the collaborative process. This is a civil and comprehensive method in which all the family members can survive the “divorce”

The Collaborative Divorce Process
The collaborative divorce process is an alternative to doing battle in court. A team of counselors, lawyers, child and financial specialists help the parties find solutions to their disputes. Everyone agrees not to go to court. Information is shared by the parties and negotiations are frank and open. Collaboration is a quicker, more flexible and generally less expensive way to get a divorce. By working out solutions as part of a team, the parties get better results and spare children the trauma of battle. The parties are also more inclined to accept and carry out the terms of a collaborative agreement than to abide by a court-imposed solution.